Covid-NEW strain in South Africa!

Johannesburg: South Africa has identified a new variant of the coronavirus that is driving a second wave of infections, the health minister said on Friday, days after Britain said it had also found a new variant of the virus boosting cases.

"We have convened this public briefing today to announce that a variant of the SARS-COV-2 Virus - currently termed 501.V2 Variant - has been identified by our genomics scientists here in South Africa," Minister of Health Zweli Mkhize tweeted.

"The evidence that has been collated, therefore, strongly suggests that the current second wave we are experiencing is being driven by this new variant," Mkhize added.

According to reports, the new strain of the COVID-19 virus named '501.V2 Variant' is said to be more severe as it contains a higher viral load.

ReadyMom wrote:New Coronavirus Strain Discovered In South Africa, More Severe Than Previous Variants
https://www.republicworld.com/world-news/rest-of-the-world-news/new-coronavirus-strain-discovered-in-south-africa-more-severe-than-previous-variants.html

According to reports, the new strain of the COVID-19 virus named '501.V2 Variant' is said to be more severe as it contains a higher viral load.

"It is still very early but at this stage, the preliminary data suggests that the virus that is now dominating in the second wave is spreading faster than the first wave. It is not clear if the second wave has more or fewer deaths, in other words, the severity is still very unclear. We had all of these different strains routinely spreading in South Africa during our first wave and subsequently. What became quite different that we did not expect is the rapid way in which this variant has become dominant in South Africa," Mkhize said in a statement.

ReadyMom wrote:Another coronavirus mutation was discovered – and this one might be more dangerous
https://bgr.com/2020/12/19/coronavirus-mutation-south-africa-501-v2/
   A new coronavirus mutation was discovered in South Africa, where a version called 501.V2 seems to be fueling the second wave of COVID-19 in the nation.
   The new strain seems to be more dangerous, causing more severe illness in younger patients who do not suffer from other medical conditions.
...

Given the steady stream of negative reports surrounding the emergence of COVID variants (B.1.1.7 and 501Y.V2) around the world, the headlines overnight - based on a preprint study - (see Reuters Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine appears effective against mutation in new coronavirus variants -study) heralds welcomed - if incomplete - news.

The study (see below) - while not yet peer-reviewed, and based on lab tests on blood from vaccine recipients - suggests that the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine is likely still effective against a key mutation (501Y) that occurs in both of these variants.